Azaleas

9 years ago

When we moved into our home it had FOUR large bushes in the front. The first one has bloomed beautifully--a bright pink azalea. It's the big full round kind, not the more airy spindly kind. Well....my husband has been trimming these faithfully so they'll stay below the windows. But, every year, each of the other three have about 3 little azalea blooms on them. I've just thought it was a wandering branch or something, and haven't taken time to investigate, spending most of my time working in the back yard.

This year, though, I decided to check, and now I'm realizing that all four bushes (I think) are azelias. What can be done to have them bloom again? Does trimming them destroy the blooming? When is the OK time to trim them back. And can you just buzz cut, or do you have to prune them?

Help, please! I am lamenting the fact that I've been missing those blooms for several years now. Just out of ignorance.

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Comments (11)

aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
9 years ago
If you need to shape do so as soon as they have finished blooming other than that just deadhead the spent blooms to ensure you get flowers the following year.
morz8 - Washington Coast
9 years ago
If you are having to prune the azaleas frequently to keep them below your windows, they are probably sited wrong.
Azaleas shouldn't require regular pruning other than removing that occasional stem that unbalances the plant, or taking off anything that may have been damaged.

They set buds in summer for the flowers you would enjoy the next Spring.
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Thinking Texas, my first thoughts were alkaline soil. But after looking at your pictures, the main problem doesn't seem to be pH, but rather poorly drained compacted soil. First, azaleas need an acidic soil. If your soil is not acidic, which I doubt if it is, then you need to modify the pH. If too much modification is necessary, it is best to use a raised bed with a good acidic soil. Second, but most important, azaleas need good drainage. If the soil doesn't drain properly, the roots start to suffocate and get root rot which eventually kills the entire plant. This is also best achieved with a raised bed. Raised Beds: Azaleas need three things, acidic soil, drainage and drainage. If the soil is poorly drained or alkaline, a raised bed may be the best option. Azaleas have shallow roots, so the raised bed only needs to be 6 to 12 inches above grade. Create it by creating a mound or berm, or a raised planting bed using a retaining curb such as logs, timbers or rocks. It is best if the base is a material with good drainage like gravel. Then at least 6 of 8 inches of good acidic, well-drained soil above that. If you use a lot of peat moss or compost remember, the peat moss and compost will decompose over time to 1/2 the original depth, so make the bed proportionately deeper. When preparing new raised beds in soil that is not acidic, the pH may be lowered by adding flowers of sulfur (powdered sulfur). Amounts of powdered sulfur needed to lower the pH of a silt loam soil to a 6-inch depth are given in a table on the website below. A target pH of 5.5 is ideal for most azaleas. Sandy soils would require less and clay soils would require more. Elemental sulfur is converted to sulfuric acid by soil bacteria. Therefore, in order for sulfur to work the following must be satisfied: * Sulfur must be mixed with the soil to provide contact. (Around established azaleas, do not disturb the shallow roots. Sprinkle the sulfur under the mulch and then replace the mulch.) * The soil must be moist * The soil must be aerated (bacteria need oxygen). * The soil must be warm for rapid bacterial growth. * Time is required for the reaction to go to completion. Here is a link that might be useful: How to grow azaleas.
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brer
Original Author
9 years ago
Well, they are gettng very large, and I hate to take them out. I think they were originally planted when the house was built in the 60s, so they are large! They have been trimmed into rounds for many years, so much that I didn't realize they were azelias. Do you think if we stopped trimming them, they would start flowering? Do they maybe need some sort of fertalizer? Thanks!
I would LOVE, LOVE it if they flowered. So much so that I might not care if they covered the windows. This time of year it's magical.
brer
Original Author
9 years ago
Well, they are gettng very large, and I hate to take them out. I think they were originally planted when the house was built in the 60s, so they are large! They have been trimmed into rounds for many years, so much that I didn't realize they were azelias. Do you think if we stopped trimming them, they would start flowering? Do they maybe need some sort of fertalizer? Thanks!
I would LOVE, LOVE it if they flowered. So much so that I might not care if they covered the windows. This time of year it's magical.
morz8 - Washington Coast
9 years ago
Pruning, and too much shade, are the two main reasons azaleas don't flower well. If these look healthy otherwise, and your soil is of average fertility, I doubt if its a fertilizer issue.
shadeyplace
9 years ago
You certainly do not want to "shear" an azalea. They are easy to transplant and that is most likely what you should do.
if you want to keep them where they are, cut them back right after flowering, give them some holly tone, and let them grow back to being too large for where they are.
They are really not the best shrub for the front. Not good looking in winter...pretty much only when they are in bloom..
mori1
9 years ago
Your best bet is to move them. My azaleas out grew the space they were in and trying to remember to prune right after they finished blooming was becoming a pain. In my area, most people have them in their front yards.
brer
Original Author
9 years ago
These are about 6 feet high (maybe higher) and about as round. You don't really think I could transplant them, do you? There has to be a way I could cut them back and have them bloom. Isn't there? Please... :(
mori1
9 years ago
According you have been cutting them. Either stop cutting them so they can bloom. Wait until they stop blooming to cut them or move them.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
EVERYTHING is movable./.. its called the nursery business ...

BUT!!! ... there are key seasons to do such... and SUMMER IS NOT ONE OF THEM ...especially for a newb ....

BTW .. its a shrub.. and there is a shrub forum ... check in there around 9/1 ... if you want to contemplate moving them ... it is done when they are dormant ... not in the heat of the summer

ken

ps: in the mean time.. think about how hard you want to work for a 20 or 30 dollar plant .. frankly.. i would prefer not to spend 5 hours digging and hauling this thing around the yard.. for 20 freakin dollars... i would cut it flush to the ground.. apply stump killer.. and go buy a new one ...

saving a planting mistake.. because its been there since the idiot original owner planted a darn tree in front of a window without the foresight to understand THAT IT WILL GROW OVER THE WINDOW ... is NOT a reason to save it ... get rid of it.. and plant your own mistakes... lol.. it took me 5 years at my first house.. to finally understand this ... dont waste the 5 years i did ...
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
9 years ago
Rhododendrons and azaleas have shallow roots. Even large ones are possible to move, though I would do it in the early fall and then keep them well-watered until things freeze up for the least stress on the plant.

On the rhododendron and azalea forum there have been many threads about moving rhododendrons and/or azaleas; since they are the same genus and grow the same way, they are moved the same way. I did a search for "moving" on that forum and got several threads. Here are two.
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/azalea/msg052147512331.html

Here is a link that might be useful: moving an azalea

Azaleas

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aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada

morz8 - Washington Coast

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